Oldbury Public Library

Background

Oldbury Public Library is a part of the £6 million newly built Jack Judge House and occupies the ground floor of this spectacular building that houses over 300 council staff. Our design team worked closely with the interior designer, who developed a theme for the project to bring a specific vision to life. This library needed to be fresh, modern, bright and contemporary with defined areas worked into the design using furniture.

The Challenge

The theme was to create synergy throughout the library by using curves. The reception area needed to be bold and welcoming but tailored specifically for Oldbury. Gloss white laminate was the material of choice for desking, IT furniture, benching, shelving and features. Bright vibrant colours were to be used to distinguish between areas, with purple as the colour chosen for the main library in keeping with the exterior of the building. This project required a 100% bespoke solution.

Our Solution

FG Library thrives on this type of challenge and our in house manufacturing team worked with library staff and our designers to come up with a solution, the results of which are stunning. A bespoke library counter was designed and manufactured for maximum impact on customers, giving the entrance of the library the WOW factor.

The curved theme was achieved with 40mm thick white laminate with panels and contrasting edging defining key areas. Shelving units were manufactured in different sizes in keeping with the area that they were built for,  but were consistently curved. Colour was also used for furniture, accessories and display products in each area to provide further aesthetic impact. In the main library two levels of shelving were created with purple as the accent colour, allowing individual shelves to be moved around without compromising on the fluidity of the library. The high gloss purple cladding used on the columns in the main library enhanced the overall setting.

In the young adult section curved laminate with lime green edging was fixed to the wall to define the area making it a nice place for young people to study. In the IT area, all desking and benching was created using the same continuous curve to create a ribbon effect.

A laminate tree with bright colour accents and an integral hideaway, appeals to children and has an IT desk at the base for children to use. All furniture including smaller scale shelving, spinner display units and mobile kinder boxes utilises the laminate tree accent colours to define the area further.

One customer remarked ‘First impressions are that the space is light and airy, so much better than the old building’.